Visa delays see Uganda stars miss London Grand Prix
Fri Jul 20, 2018 02:33:pm Sports
4.1K By Obiaks Blog
Ugandan star long distance runner Stella Chesang has pulled out of the IAAF London Grand Prix this weekend because of delay in getting her visa.
Chesang, who won gold in the 10,000m at the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in Australia, was forced to withdraw as she would not recover from her trip in time to race.
"We have decided that Chesang is pulled out of the competition because her passport did not come through by Thursday for her to travel," Timothy Masaba, the coordinator at the Uganda Athletics Federation (UAF), told KweséESPN on Friday.
"We made a decision that it would be useless for her to travel on Friday and only have three hours of rest before the competition."
In the same boat is 10,000m runner Jacob Kiplimo, who will miss the trip because he did not apply for the visa in time. He was in Finland for the World U20 Championship.
"I thought I could apply for the visa while in Finland, but failed," Kiplimo told KweséESPN.
"We had hoped that Chesang and Kiplimo would also use the London event to prepare for the Africa Senior Championships to take place in Nigeria next month," Masaba added.
Ugandan double Commonwealth Games gold medalist Joshua Cheptegei had also been expected to compete in London but is out injured till September.
ESPN
Chesang, who won gold in the 10,000m at the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in Australia, was forced to withdraw as she would not recover from her trip in time to race.
"We have decided that Chesang is pulled out of the competition because her passport did not come through by Thursday for her to travel," Timothy Masaba, the coordinator at the Uganda Athletics Federation (UAF), told KweséESPN on Friday.
"We made a decision that it would be useless for her to travel on Friday and only have three hours of rest before the competition."
In the same boat is 10,000m runner Jacob Kiplimo, who will miss the trip because he did not apply for the visa in time. He was in Finland for the World U20 Championship.
"I thought I could apply for the visa while in Finland, but failed," Kiplimo told KweséESPN.
"We had hoped that Chesang and Kiplimo would also use the London event to prepare for the Africa Senior Championships to take place in Nigeria next month," Masaba added.
Ugandan double Commonwealth Games gold medalist Joshua Cheptegei had also been expected to compete in London but is out injured till September.
ESPN
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